Melissa's Story

February 15, 2015

Hi, my name is Melissa.

I am here to share my “Busyslim Journey” so far, and who knows maybe you or someone you may know can relate to my story. My journey is not your normal journey of great weight loss, my journey is about rebuilding my mind, my self esteem, my courage and finding me.

In 2006 my life as I knew it took a turn onto a path that I could never ever have foreseen, My mum, at the tender age of 55, was diagnosed with “Front-temporal Lobe Dementia”. I gave up my paid work and became her daytime carer, and remained a mum, a wife and took on the role of an unpaid Accounts clerk to my family business, to ease the pressure on my Dad.

Over the next four years everything changed, my life changed, I changed, my priorities changed and my weight changed. I gained 15 plus kilos and a hell of a lot of mind baggage.

In Sept 2010 my mum passed away, by August 2011 my marriage had fallen apart and I had separated from my husband, by January 2014 my 12 year old daughter decided she didn’t want me in her life anymore and left it up to her 14 year old brother to tell me she wasn’t coming home from her school holiday trip to her fathers.

My life was in turmoil, for the next 12 or so months life was a blur, I don’t remember much at all. I felt lifeless, I gained more weight and more mind baggage. My self-esteem was non-existent, I was an empty shell, I couldn’t see what use I was to anyone, I was even convinced my Son would be better off without me in his life.

One day I was at the Dr’s with my Son and I was reading over the notices on the board, just to pass the time, something caught my eye, it was Tanisha’s first flyer for Busyslim, I read it and it struck something inside me, I can’t remember exactly what the words were but they combined the connection of weight loss and a healthy minds. I checked the dates and they were long gone, I thought why bother. But I did bother I took the number down anyway.

It took me a couple of weeks to get the courage to call but finally I did and after a 45 min plus conversation with Tanisha, I knew this program was different and I thought what have I got to loose, I can’t get any lower then I am.

I was very hesitant when I joined the programme and I usually sat quietly listening to others. But one Day I spoke up, after that things changed, I was blown away, all of a sudden I was with people who “got me”, who had issues of their own, who could empathise with me, I wasn’t alone anymore, and out the front was this wonderful women who understood all of us, she had been there before, she knew where we were coming from and she wanted to share with us her very own personal journey and how she conquered her fears and not only lost a staggering 50 kilos but managed to rebuild her mindset into that of a positive, healthy person.

By the end of my 12 week program I had lost a total of 19 centimeters, I only wish I could have weighed how heavy my mind and heart had been when I started the programme, because by the end of it I had started to chip away at the concrete crap that had taken hold of my heart and mind. It was as if someone had read my thoughts, seen my nightmares and knew my wishes. I received more healing in those 12 weeks of Busyslim then I did in 4 years of seeing a psychologist.

I got stronger, mentally and physically, I started to train with Tanisha and slowly a few more centimeters dropped but then they stopped, baffled and starting to drift back to negative thoughts I sought answers… and I found them. The 5-10 very stressful years of putting myself last, being my own worst enemy and feeling like a waste of space had repaid me with “insulin resistance”.

Ok so how will I deal with it, no tears, no falling apart, no blaming myself, nope this time I went okay, how do I manage it, A medical plan was put in place and I am now on medication and looking to continue my journey.

I thought about it long and hard and I decided to put myself through the Busyslim programme again, for a different reason this time. This time I am educating myself on my nutrition, and this time I am a different person, I am a warrior, I am my best advocate, I put me first, I am proud of who I am and I know who I am going to be.

Since welcoming Busyslim and Tanisha into my life, I have achieved goals I would never have dreamed possible, I have completed a ½ marathon, I have completed a “miss Muddy, 5 klm obstacle course, I have taken up hobbies I have dreamed of doing for years, I take every opportunity I can to do something physically exciting, like bushwalking, swimming in the ocean.

My life is wonderful, I have so many things I want to do, to see and to experience and most of importantly I now believe my son’s life is richer and fuller because I am in it with him.

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